Lifestyle Feature

New Ulm Figure Skating Club presents: Rockin’ Rodeo

Professional and high-ranked amateur skaters Sabrina Logren and Daniel Kulenkamp are part of the show at the New Ulm Civic Center, Brown County Fairgrounds. Show times are 7 p.m., Friday, March 1; 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. Saturday, March 2; and 1 p.m., Sunday, Ma

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The Betta Gamma goup will be dancing to ‘These Boots Were Made for Walking’.Pictured from left are: Jenna Ebert, Kendra Lyimo, Sydney Owens, Sydnee Helget and Addison Rustin.

Senior soloist Gabriella De La Cruz is skating to ‘She’s Country.’

The Power group will be skating to ‘We Built this City’. Pictured from left are: Amara Addy, Olivia Ownes, Erik Bjorkstrand, Alexis Rustin and Ashley Harris.

The Freestyle Five group is skating to ‘Crazy Train’.Pictured from left: Kaiya Gieseke, Katelyn Portner, Hailey Weymann, Anna Johnson and Mikayla Gohl.

Seventy New Ulm Figure Skating Club skaters will perform 'Rockin' Rodeo,' a 34-song production involving a rodeo and the opposing forces of country cowboys and rock 'n' roll music enthusiasts.

Skating will take place to tunes like Orange Blossom Special, These Boots Were Made For Walking, Boot Scootin' Boogie, Crazy Train, Brown Eyed Girl, Jolene, Footloose, Fishin' In The Dark, Sweet Home Alabama, Livin' On A Prayer, Time of My Life, Ring of Fire, Walk This Way, God Bless The USA, Jackson, We Built This City on Rock and Roll, She's Country, and Glad You Came, among others.

Written by Beth Enter, the production with 34 country and rock 'n' roll songs, lasts less than two hours. It includes guest skating performances from White Bear Lake residents Daniel Kulenkamp, who placed fifth in the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships; and Sabrina Logren, Principal Skater for a season with Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines.

Advance tickets available at Hy-Vee and Cash Wise, are $9 for adults and $10 at the door. Tickets for students ages 3 to 17 are $5. Kids under age three are free.

Some of the more experienced New Ulm Skating Club skaters - Chalina Whitney of Madelia, Emily Curtis of Sleepy Eye, and Gabriella De La Cruz of New Ulm talked about their skating experiences and the dedication it requires.

"I enjoy bonding with skaters," said Whitney, who has been with the club for six years.

"It's fun meeting and training with a different group of kids here," said Curtis who has been with skating with the club for 14 years. "We began training for the show up for about six hours a week, two months in advance."

The girls expressed interest in future skating endeavors such as teaching skating to younger kids during their college years.

"We've got a very nice group of girls that get along very well and support each other," said New Ulm Skating Figure Skating Club Coach Kathy Bjorkstrand. "These shows require lots of discipline and hard work."

She said skating club shows have different themes each year and shows get better and better each year. A lot of people can skate well by themselves. But performing well individually and in groups in front of people is much more difficult."

Jenny Gieseke, who co-directs the show with Chrissy Frank, said she and Frank created and music list and gave it to Enter who wrote the script.

"It's really great having somebody as creative as she (Enter) is," Gieseke said.

Advance tickets available at Hy-Vee and Cash Wise, are $9 for adults and $10 at the door. Tickets for students ages 3 to 17 are $5. Kids under age three are free.